


Sera and the Fereldan Identity

by Lithosaurus



Series: Owl, Raven, Robin [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Get Together, Puppies, this is the one i work on when my other fics feel too grim dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lithosaurus/pseuds/Lithosaurus
Summary: Sera, for all her protests, is Fereldan. Every Fereldan needs a dog, even if they don't like them, especially if the cute Herald likes them.-Can be read independent of series





	1. Chapter 1

“Is that…a Mabari puppy?” Blackwall asked.

“Maybe? I guess.” Sera dropped the thing back into the box of dogs she had found.

“Careful!” Blackwall put down the papers he had been ruffling through to join her on the other side of the room. The wriggling wrinkled squeakers jumped up against the side of the crate to sniff and lick the new hand. One immediately began to chew on his gauntlets.

“Their teeth are just coming in.” He smiled and rubbed its ears.

“It looks like they already have them all.”  Sera lifted one of their lips. It dug its tiny teeth into her finger. She hissed and pulled back. Blackwall chuckled.

“Milk teeth, Sera. They’re getting they’re adult teeth in.”

“So, is there mom around?”

“Maybe. We did see some hounds on our way over here. They’re not nursing anymore. Who knows where she is now.”

“Oh,” Suddenly, she felt a lot worse about fighting the dogs around the Grand Forest Villa.

“We should bring them back to the camp.” Blackwall stood back up and recollected the papers.

“We need to find elfy and elfier first.” Sera began to heft the wooden box up onto her hip.

“Do you need help?”

“I got it.” The grey speckled one that she had picked up earlier jumped up against the edge. She caught it before it could fall out. She let it chewed on her finger guard to keep it quiet.

They found the Herald and Solas upstairs looking through journals. Or, Solas was looking through journals, Savi was tossing a large key up and down and chattering about why anyone would need one so large. She almost dropped it when she saw Sera and Blackwall enter.

“Why do you have a box of puppies?” She stared at the crate.

“We found ‘em downstairs. Blackwall found some papers, too.”

“Rations records. We can assess how large their forces are.”

“That’s nice. But what about the puppies?” Savi cooed into the box and let the fluff balls lick her fingers. “They’re so soft and chunky! Are they heavy? Do you want to put them down for a moment?” Savi was already taking the box from Sera. She put it down and scooped up one of the dogs.

“Da’len.” Solas looked at the puppy in her lap like nobles looked at horse shit. “We should return to the camp with this information.” His lips pursed up more when the puppy started licking her ears. Sera sorta agreed with him but she never liked doing that so she wouldn’t say anything.

“Let them stretch their legs a bit, Solas.” Blackwall said. He closed the door and started lifting puppies out of the crate. They toddled about the room with their wrinkled noses trying to get in everything. The smudged one made a bee line for her and began to chew on her boot laces.

“Da’len…” Solas scowled and scooted another one away with the butt of his staff.

“Let them explore, Solas.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re gonna be stuck in the box for a while if we’re going back to the camp with them.” Her reasoning would have been a lot more compelling if she wasnt laying on her back in the middle of the room with a three puppies on her chest.

“Yes, and I’d much prefer to make that trip with daylight.” Solas shoved another bitey little monster away.

“Give them a bit of time.” Blackwall crouched down next to Savi and offered his hand to sniff.

Solas huffed but stayed quiet as the two swordfighters were defeated by ‘cute’.

When they finally went on their way, it was half their normal speed. Part of that was maneuvering the heavy, bulky box. Most of it was that Savi was trying to walk and make leads for the dogs at the same time. To her credit, she was pretty good at it.

Sera watched as she took a narrow strip of bark from a tree, removed the rough outer part and twisted it round on itself and a previous strip until it was a length of twine- all while walking slowly. Blackwall didn’t discourage her, Solas had long since stopped trying to suggest anything that didn’t have to do with magic, and Sera was just curious enough to not ask for an increased pace. By the time the horizon was turning from red to blue-grey, Savi had three of the dogs wrapped in little chest-harnesses and tied to her belt with the bark rope. At least the dogs seemed much happier being able to sniff and piss as they pleased. Savi beamed down at them.Which meant that Savi was watching the dogs and her hands, not the surroundings. Blackwall was equally distracted and Solas was busy glaring and judging. Sera was the only one to realize that the rustling of leaves wasn’t coming only from them.

Sera squinted through the murk and spotted the smuggler stalking them. She looked to the rest of them but none had noticed.

“Behind us!” She snapped and fired an arrow. Savi fumbled for the leads and jammed them into Solas’ palm before unsheathing her sword and charging forward. The fight was brief, they were barely outnumbered and the smugglers weren’t expecting Solas’s casting. Sera barely had time to get her blood pumping before it was over.

As she collected arrows from the dead ambushers, something hit the back of her knee. She jumped backward with her belt knife out but found only a dog. It was the smudgy grey one with its lead trailing behind it. The little thing looked up at her expectantly with an arrow in it’s mouth.

“Thanks.” She grabbed for it but the puppy wiggled backward.

“If you put teeth marks in that it will be worthless, fleabag.” She lunged for it again and got a hold of the arrow. She came back with half of it and a dog licking her wrist.

“Shove off.” She stood and glared at it. The dog didn’t seem to notice. Rather, it sat and wiggled while looking at her.

“Aww, she likes you.” Savi sighed. She crouched next to the dog and rubbed it’s ears. All the while, it kept staring at Sera.

“She even brought you an arrow. So cute!”

Sera would have been more inclined to agree if Savi hadn’t been in the middle of wiping blood off her blade. Then again, she could see Savi’s forearms flex under her leather vambrace with every smooth swipe of her rag…

Savi finished up cleaning and handed the lead to Sera.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Hold it?” Savi said. “She likes you and I can only lead so many pups. Have you never worked with dogs before.”

“Not really.”

“Oh,” Savi’s face fell.

“The sun is setting!” Solas yelled impatiently. He already had the other dogs gathered up and was holding the crate himself.

“We know, hahren!” Savi yelled back. She rolled her eyes.

“C’mon,” She said to Sera. “If you want, I’ll tell you about the clan dogs once we get to camp.” She set off at a jog in Solas’ direction and left Sera with a broken arrow and a puppy.

“ ‘She’, huh?” Sera grumbled at the dog. “Don’t want to know how Savi knows that.”

The puppy yipped in a high-pitch voice far too loud for such a small body.

“Whatever,” Sera rolled her eyes and picked up the lead.

-

It was worse in camp. The three soldiers there were Ferelden and practically melted when they found out there were orphaned puppies that needed caring for. Whatever else needed doing that day was abandoned because apparently making sure some dumb animals were okay was more important than figuring out where these bandits were coming from.

And then the dogs just _had_ to be left in their tent that night. The two tents were separated by sex and the senior officer, a woman, insisted that the dogs be left in their tent for the night so she could ‘keep an eye on them’. Supposedly, she was a former farmhand who had raised sheepdogs but Sera found that excuse flimsy. How much care did a dog need in the middle of the night? She didn’t think it was a whole lot- but if it was and they woke her up she was gonna be pissed.

Regardless, it made Savi happy. The Inquisition soldier took first watch so they had the tent to themselves. The Herald sat on the floor with her bark rope and some rib bones from the cook pot. The eight puppies spread out through the cramped tent covering every inch with dog stink and barking. They chewed on the bones, tent legs, boots, lamp posts, Savi’s fingers, each other… (he wanted to see if Savi was People)

As they prepared for bed, Sera hung her gear from the ceiling joists rather than have everything destroyed. She was almost tempted to crawl up their herself but she doubted the tent would stay stable if she did. Rather she isolated herself on one of the cots and occasionally had to shoe away the grey puppy. It eventually settled for curling up underneath her and whining every few minutes.

“You should let her up.” Savi nodded to the dog. She currently had a rope in each hand and a puppy tugging on each.

“Why? So she can clean my ears out? Ew.”

“They’re very social animals. She just wants to be friends. Have you really never been around dogs?” Savi looked so sad. “I thought all Fereldans like dogs.”

“Maybe the rich shits and the landed folk.” Sera snorted. “It’s all war hounds and guard dogs in the alienage ‘n slums. I’ve gotten bit before and I’ve seen people get way worse.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Savi looked sad, not pitying like Sera expected.

“Why would you be sorry?”

“I grew up with dogs. We don’t really have guard dogs, the halla are good enough for that but we have hunting dogs. They’re really nice. I’m sorry you didn’t get that. Especially since you grew up where there are Mabari! They’re famous! I met a few hunters at the last Arlathvhen from clan Ralaferin who had a Mabari and bred her. The pups were the smartest dogs I’ve ever met! Almost as smart as the halla and definitely smarter than some of my cousins.”

Sera tried not to roll her eyes. Typical Dalish ready to go on about her bond with the animals and how great the Dalish were and pitying everyone who wasn’t peak elfy. Sera pulled the blanket over her head and rolled over.

She’d never been that found of animals outside of the kitchen. Except Maybe Lady Emmauld’s mousers Arlessa Ash. Ash was the oldest, fattest, and fiercest cat in the manor. The footman insisted she was the mother of half the cats in the neighborhood which made her a queen. Sera doubted that Ash had that many kittens but she didn’t doubt her status as a royal. She had gotten too old to hunt mice and rats but the kitchen girls gave her a daily meal of meat scraps and cream which kept her content. For years, Ash would sleep in Sera’s little room. Sera never saw the cat arrive but would wake up with Ash curled on her chest. The Arlessa died under a cart horses hooves a few years before Sera ran away. She’d cried like baby and Lady Emmauld told her she was being childish.

Sera fell asleep thinking about the cat’s fur tickling her nose and her croaky purr. She woke up with a puppy under her chin.


	2. Chapter 2

Sera didn’t really like horses. They were big, stinky, dumb, and only moderately useful. Yeah, it was nice to let someone else do the walking but no one really _needed_ horses. She never really got pissy when they didn’t get horses like some of the noble prats in the Inquisition (‘cause why would she) but when there was perfectly good horse that they could be using but weren’t; that was annoying.

For instance, if they were walking across the entire freaking Hinterlands to find some random soldier who had raised dogs for the Arl and the pack pony they’d been offered at the last camp went to the dogs rather than anyone with sore feet. Sera glared at the smelly fly-trap as it plodded along down the trail with thedogs were carried in saddle bags, heads occasionally poking out. Savi cooed over them and Blackwall fed them bits of jerky as they travelled. It was disgusting.

Sera went to bed in a foul mood and it didn’t improve in the morning. Dinner rations were cut down as the fresh meat went to the dogs and actual people were stuck with bread and beans. She refused to sleep in the same tent as the dogs again so she set up her own cot outside of the tent while the dog trainer and Savi dealt with the flea bags. She woke up cold and covered in dew to find that the Herald wanted to fight a dragon. Because   of course she did.

“As long as she’s here, we can’t hope for peace to return to the area.” Sera didn’t even need to say anything for Savi to jump into an explanation.

“Are we prepared to confront a high dragon at this time, Herald?” Solas asked. He was trying to sound ‘diplomatic’ and ‘respectful’ but was just coming off as an ass, as per the fucking usual.

“Maybe.” Savi shrugged. “We can at least get a better look at her.”

Solas’ mouth got very tiny and Blackwall chuckled but he sounded plenty worried.

He was right to be. They got three steps into the valley before the dragon dive bombed them like an angry starling that farted fire. Sera dove out of the way and scrambled for cover behind a tower of rock. She caught a glimpse of a magic barrier behind her but lost sight of the rest of the group in the flames. It’s wings cracked the air like a wind storm and nearly drowned out Savi as she yelled to watch out.  Something large crunched the rock above her.

Sera looked up and came face to face with a dragon snout.  The dragonling smelled like sun baked stone and old urine. It’s jaws cracked open with a creaky growl and Sera could see sparks growing between its fangs.

For a heartbeat she froze. She thought of guards with mabari pulling a thief out of his apartment in the alienage. She thought of the dancing bear that got loose when she was in Cumberland and ripped a kid’s arm off. She thought of corpses with dog bites in the flesh after the last Purge she saw.

Sera blinked and shoved it all away. Her knife slid into the dragonling’s chin like butter. The beast screeched and pulled backwards. She slashed across its neck, her blade scittering and catching unevenly on the scales. It flailed, giving her the heartbeat it took to notch her arrow. It punched through the dragon’s eye and the thing dropped like a sack of flour.

Blackwall’s familiar bulk charged into her periphery and she spun as his shield slammed into the second dragonling. A fist of ice sped through the air above her head and hit a third in the face. Savi cleaved the foreleg off the stunned second dragonling and Sera’s brain clicked into the rush of battle.

Dragonlings swarmed up the valley. They were as large as ponies and their teeth were twice as sharp. Big things meant big targets. Sera popped one of the glass bottles of her belt and hucked it overhand at the nearest. The tar-filled grenade split and the tiny packet of alchemical mixture held in the throat sparked. The dragonlings screeched but didn’t stop.

Savi whooped with joy and charged toward them. She cleaved one’s neck clear through and danced backward as two more bit at her. Sera planted two arrows in the throat of one and Blackwall crashed into the other like a rockfall. A barrier shimmered around them as one of the remaining dragonlings spat a gout of fire at them.

A shadow crossed the sun. Sera took her eyes from her next target and a caught the high dragon hurtling at them with a speed that nothing that big should ever reach.

“She’s back!” Sera shouted.

Savi slammed the pommel of her sword into a dragonling’s forehead and looked up.

Blackwall swore loudly. “Herald, we should-”

“Retreat? Sounds good.” Savi was already backpedaling back up the hill. Sera fired on the oversized lizards and slowed their chase as the two sword fighters raced towards the relative safety of the natural pathway. Solas cast one last barrier over them and turned heel.

The wingbeats of the monster resonated in her ears and lungs. Sera sprinted up the last of the hill and dove behind a broken column. Blackwall, Solas, and Savi were just a step behind her. The dragon spat another ball of fire and she could feel heat like a baker’s oven or smith’s furnace as it landed just behind them.

“Yep. Not prepared.” Savi concluded.

Sera peered over her cover and watched as the thing’s scaley butt flew off again. Savi grinned like a madwoman, even with scorch marks covering the metal of her breastplate. Sera’s heart pounded in her chest like a drum and she could feel the tingle of fading adrenaline in her fingers. She took a deep breath. The smell of dragon still hung in the air like a reminder they had come way too close to being roasted alive.

Something growled behind them and Sera’s heart took off like a runaway horse.

She spun and the glow of fire in the dragonling’s mouth showed exactly where it hid in the shadows. Her fingers fumbled for an arrow as she shouted something along the lines of ‘fuck’. The dragonling took a step forward and reared back its neck but stopped as if something a yanked it backwards. It spun. Sera saw one of the puppies had the tail in its mouth, doing its best to tug-a-war the giant lizard to death.

The dragon snapped its tail like a whip and sent the dog flying backwards then launched its growing fireball at the pup. Before it could even turn back around, Savi drove her sword through its rip cage to make the world’s ugliest skewer of meat.

Sera saw the dog struggle to its feet and leapt over the corpse. She knelt over the tiny animal and tried to guess how badly it was hurt. It tried to walk towards her and stopped after two steps. It licked its burnt back paws and whimpered. Sera carefully reached out her hand for it to sniff. Injured animals were even more likely to bite in her opinion. The dog licked her fingers and whinned. She scooped it up and walked back around the dragon.

“Is that one of the mabari puppies?” Blackwall asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, she bit the dragon. Tried to rip its tail off.”

“Oh no! Is she okay? Solas come over here!” Savi shouted.

Solas approached with a glowing hand but the dog snarled before he could get any closer than a few yards.

“Don’t like magic?” Sera asked the dog in her arms.

Savi frowned. “I hope she hasn’t had any bad exposures. One of our hunting dogs fell in a river as a pup and never got back in the water willingly. We had to tie him to tree when we bathed him. I forget what his real name was but everyone called him Stinky.”

Savi absently babbled on about various dog stories as she opened up her medical pouch and began to smear a paste on the dogs burns.

She finished, cocked her head and asked; “Shuck?”

“What?”

“That’s what you yelled when you saw the last baby dragon.”

“Really? I guess I couldn’t decide between ‘shit’ or ‘fuck’.” Sera shrugged. Blackwall laughed with just a bit of crazed relief.

“Wouldn’t be a bad name for a dog.” He added.

“No, she needs something like ‘Dragonbane’ or ‘Flame Jaws’.” Savi disagreed. “What about ‘Hanninanna’? It means dragon.”

“It actually translates to ‘glorious one’.” Solas corrected. He was too stoic to pout but didn’t exactly look pleased the dog wouldn’t let him get close.

“Yeah, meaning a dragon.” Savi said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sera rolled her eyes at the elf off and hitched the dog higher. The little thing’s paws were singed and blisters were already coming in on its paws. It’s rump had gone from mottled grey to singed black. Even with what must have been painful injuries, the little thing wiggled it’s stumpy butt and tried to lick her chin like it was having the best day of its life.

They trekked back to the camp to deliver the bad news and instead got even worse news, to Sera’s ears.

“Well, she’s bonded with you.” The dog trainer informed them. The dog had chewed its way out of the makeshift kennel and chased after them as soon as she had taken her eyes off the litter.

“Fighting dragons, running around the countryside; I’ve bonded with her too. She’ll grow up to be a good little hunter.” Savi rubbed the dogs ears and grinned.

“Er, no, ser.” The soldier shuffled her feet. “Mabari bond with their trainers, imprint on them like calves and ducks. This one picked Sera.”

“Well good for her. She needs to pick again.” Sera snorted.

“That won’t happen.” The soldier shook her head. “They usually don’t pick more than one in a lifetime and often die if their trainer does. If you leave her, there’s a chance she’ll survive but she might just stop eating.”

“That’s awful!” Savi cried.

“Their loyalty is unmatched.” Blackwall noted somberly.

“But at the cost of their life? That seems cruel.”

The dog trainer shrugged. “It’s how the mabari work. Some say that it’s magic left over from the ascension of the Prophet and that Mabari return to their trainers at the Maker’s side, same as Her own. Not the Orlesians, but some people.”

“I don’t want a dog.” Sera said louder, bringing the discussion back to the issue at hand, not nonsense about dead people.

“You can’t just leave her!” Savi insisted. “She tried to save our lives!”

At her feet, the dog whined. It looked pretty miserable with its burned paws and forlorn expression.

“There’s a chance she’ll find someone else, right? We can take her back to Haven and you can look for someone who wants a dog there.” Savi said it like she had already decided that’s what they would do. Sera looked down at the dog who was wiggling in her hands.

“Fine.” She huffed. “But we are going to find her someone when we get to Haven.”

She scooped up the puppy and tried not to wince as it licked her chin fiercely. Savi beamed and the soldier smiled fondly, as if this was some sort of Chantry miracle. This was going to be a long trip back to Haven.


	3. Chapter 3

“Honestly, the herald would have been a way better choice.” Sera informed the pup as it reverentially watched her eat. Even she had to admit it was a bit cute.

“I mean, she’s the one who’s been making you miniature bandages and doting on you like you’re on your deathbed.” The mabari wuffled softly, as if agreeing. It’s paws were still swaddled in small linen bandages. The burns on her rump were beginning to grow back fur but the delicate paw pads still needed poultice as dog wouldn’t let Solas near her.

“Speaking of which, my quiver isn’t meant to be a toy. Teeth marks in it aren’t helpful.” The dog scooted closer.

“Were you trying to eat it? Cause there’s better things to eat. Like this?” Sera threw the last the pork rib to the dog and watch it pounced like a fox on the scrap.

“What about ‘Fox’? ‘Vixen’? Right now ‘Shuck’ is the best I’ve heard so far. ‘Shitfuck’ is a bit unwieldly.” The unnamed puppy chewed on its bone and didn’t react. Sera wasn’t sure what she was expecting. The dog was certainly smart enough that a reaction wouldn’t be too unreasonable.

Savi ducked into the tent with a lantern. The pup yipped and danced around her feet.

“Still up?” The Herald yawned and began to strip off her armor.

Sera wasn’t sure who she was talking but answered all the same. “Yep. Was hungry ‘n grabbed some leftover meat from the cook fire.  Dog woke up, of course. Watch was quiet, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Savi said through another yawn. “Honestly, I don’t even need to take a watch shift. Cassandra just thinks it’s a good idea for the soldiers to see me working with them.”

She stretched and then flopped down on one of the other cots in the tent. It shook and creaked from the force and Sera listened to that rather than think about how the muscles in Savi’s arms looked moving against her undershirt.

“Keeps you People.” Sera shrugged.

“ ‘People’ woke up before dawn to let that one out to water a tree.” Savi mumbled into her pillow. “Speaking of which, have you decided on a name yet?”

“Not really.” Savi scooped up the dog before it could scramble into the Herald’s cot. The puppy settled down on her lap and wiggled its stubby tail.

“What about Da’fen? No! What about Courser?” Savi sat up with a wide smile on her face. “She’s not exactly a wind hound but the story is still close enough.”

“What story?” Sera narrowed her eyes. If this was when Savi showed her Dalish and tried to convert her to worshipping statues and scrawling paint on her face, she was going to just blow out the lantern and slam a pillow over her head.

“The Dread Wolf and the Courser.” Savi said. “I don’t think you would’ve heard our version what with the Creators being banned in Andrastian cities but you might have a similar tale. Wanna hear it?”

Before Sera could answer Savi leapt in.

“A long ass time ago, when exactly isn’t important, there was a Keeper who had a hunting courser. They’d grown up together and hunted together but now the dog was old and couldn’t hunt and the Keeper had other responsibilities. The dog was a crazy good hunter and could run down any deer. That part’s important.

“One day, the Dread Wolf came around looking to corrupt the Keeper because he was wise and Fen’Harel is a shit who ruins everything. The Wolf stalked the Keeper through the Fade as he slept but the dog was such a great hunter he could smell a wolf in the Fade. The dog woke up and protected the Keeper by chasing after the Wolf. Fen’Harel ran from the courser who chased him across the Fade and eventually grabbed his tail. The Wolf couldn’t get free and the dog wouldn’t let go. Eventually, Fen’Harel bit off his own tail to escape and never fucked with dogs again.”

“He bit off his own tail?” Sera repeated.

“Presumably it grew back.” Savi shrugged. “He’s like the biggest baddest thing in the Fade so I think he’d need a tail and could grow one back if he wanted.”

“Couldn’t he just kill the dog?”

“No, because the dog was too quick and would dodge out of the way. Probably. That wasn’t explained in the story. I just thought that it was relevant. She did grab a dragon by the tail, she just wasn’t big enough to hold on. She’ll get bigger though, grow right in to her courage. What about Courage? For a name.”

“Nah,” Sera settled in to her bedroll. Not-Courage stretched out on her chest and sighed deeply. Sera would know what the name should be when they found it.

They arrived in Skyhold later that week and Sera got a whole lot more names.

Blackwall stuck by Shuck. Iron Bell added Saararad, Qunlat for hunter. Krem suggested Fidelas which was the most common dog name in Tevinter according to him. Cullen mostly looked jealous and depressed that they hadn’t brought back any more of the litter. Leliana told her that the Hero of Ferelden had called her dog Iovru which was ‘bear’ in Elvhen. Sera liked Bear best out of all the suggestions.

She instantly threw out Bella (suggested by Josephine), Wiggle (Varric), Lucky (Cassandra), and ‘That nuisance that peed in my bag again’ from Solas. It wasn’t until Flissa pulled the puppy out of the cook fire while she was rooting around for old bones that Sera found the perfect name.

“I know she’s just a puppy, Sera, but she’s making a mess! She’s tracking soot all over the floor of the tavern.”

“Soot.” Sera repeated thoughtfully.

“Yes, soot!” Flissa shrieked. “It’s getting everywhere.”

Sera looked down at her ash covered dog who had a beef bone in her mouth as proof of her crime. Soot covered her paws and nose. Black paw prints showed exactly where the dog had been.

“Thanks, Flissa. I’ll try to keep her out of your way.”

Sera scooped Soot up, ignored the black stains that were getting all over her cloths, and marched across Haven to Savi’s cabin.

“Soot!’ She announced loudly as she burst in.

“Soot?” Savi looked up from cleaning her armor with a look of confusion on her face.

“Yep. Her name’s Soot. ‘Cause she’s soot colored and can survive dragon fire.”

Savi grinned. “I like it!”

Soot barked and licked Sera chin. She seemed to like it, too.


	4. Chapter 4

Savi wasn’t half bad. Sera kept telling herself that she needed to judge her harder but it was getting difficult to do that. She was ready to hate the hoighty-toighty whoever that was important enough to be at the Conclave but Savi wasn’t hoighty-anything. After they first met in that dark alley in Val Royeux, Sera prepared herself to hear about how she wasn’t a real elf (whatever that meant) and you couldn’t trust the humans that lived just like you except without a tree for shade. But again, Savi never tried to tell her how she didn’t deserve her ears.

It was weird. Sometimes, Savi seemed larger than life, like when she apparently managed to travel through fucking time without blinking an eye. Other times, Sera remembered that Savi was probably no older than her, like when they recovered the body of the other Dalish elf that had gone to the Conclave to spy. Savi identified the dead man by his half-melted wedding ring and then disappeared for three days. When she showed back up and Cassandra demanded to know where she’d gone, Savi just shrugged and said she needed to clear her head.

Sera knew better. Sera knew that Savi had come by and said goodbye to Soot the dawn before she left. That wasn’t the sort of thing she would’ve done if she had planned on coming back.

But she had come back and that was something that Sera felt conflicted about. Not the whole ‘saving the world with a glowing green magic hand’ but the ‘now you’re hanging around all the time and I’m honestly not sure why’ thing.

Because Savi wasn’t half bad and she was spending a whole lot of time with Sera but she might also just be spending a whole lot of time with Soot. Sera usually went for broad-armed farm girls or bar maids who could balance a tray on their chest with the right corset. Elves were usually all bony and slim wristed, not really her type. But Savi had arms like some elves’ whole leg. She’d seen the Herald pick up Blackwall round the middle after the Iron Bull teased her about being tinier than he was when he was twelve. Blackwall made the strangest surprised yelp and she would’ve gotten Bull too if the coward hadn’t arm locked her and thrown her into a snow drift like a sack of flour. She’d come up spluttering and they introduced Bull to the horrors of snow ball fights.

Savi meant muscles and golden brown hair that looked soft enough to use as a pillow and a high arched nose that made Sera think of a hawk. The green tattoos on her face matched the hazel of her eyes and looked like thorny vines curling over her cheek bones leading down to her firm, smiling lips… Sera didn’t want to think about those lips too much.

But this was the problem; Sera was ready to admit her susceptibility to Savi’s cuteness if Savi was ‘on the market’, so to speak and that was something she wavered on. Sometimes, Sera would tell Blackwall a joke with extra eyebrow wiggling and Savi would snort and blush because she knew exactly what that clam looked like. But then there was the time Sera asked if she wanted the top or bottom half of her sandwich and Savi just blinked in confusion.

Okay, maybe that was a bit unclear on her part. It had a lot of cold cuts in it but it was kinda a visual.

Sera was trying to think of other things while re-fletching some arrows on her bed when Savi slid through the door, shut it quickly to keep out the swirling snow, and buried her face into Soot’s flank. The dog sat up, a little upset for being woken up but settled back down when she recognized the new comer.

“They being stupid?” Sera asked.

“We did the hard part, right?” Savi lifted her head out of the dog fur to talk. “We went and kicked out a Magister and travelled through time but clearly that wasn’t the difficult thing. No, the hard part is walking a void-cursed week. My three year old cousin could do a better job of getting those mages up a hill. And! And it’s clearly my fault that Lady Ruffles and Commander Fluffdick have to deal with this like I wanted to be here in the first place. Elgar’nan, they act like they have scat for brains sometimes.” She huffed and curled up around Soot. Soot stretched a little a readjusted, yawned, and settled her head on Savi’s.

“It’s not all bad, is it?” Sera leaned over and tapped Savi’s shoulder with a new shaft. “You get people to bring you food and haul your bed pans for you.”

“I get people to bring me _Fereldan_ food. No, offense to the present Ferelden-born company but it tastes like you’ve never met a herb. And I don’t actually want people sneaking in and stealing my shit while I’m trying to sleep, literally or not. It’s creepy.”

Sera shrugged. She had to agree, actually.

“At least you got to meet Beardy, right? He’s fun. And you’ve got your daily cute relief here.”

Savi chuckled. “Yeah, Soot not’s nice, too.”

Sera blinked a few times before she got the full implications. Savi was peaking out from over Soot’s rump. She looked a little bit flushed. Her ears were turning a lovely dark pink color. Sera smirked and winked.

“Looks are free, you’ll have to get me a drink first if you want any more.”

Savi squeaked, it might’ve have been a nervous laugh.

“I should probably- uh.” She started to stand up and Sera laughed.

“Nah, stay. Complain some more about the big britches. I’ll think of something to take them down a notch or two. Just need some inspiration. Some recon, like Lady Stabbingale does, yeah?”

She leaned back and continued working on widdling down shaft. Savi stayed quiet for a bit but picked back up complaining about trying to move a few hundred robes across part of a country. Sera sat and worked and occasionally added a comment at the right beats. It felt good to winged on with someone again. It also felt good to get confirmation that Soot wasn’t the only girl getting attention for the Herald.


	5. Chapter 5

Soot’s fur was damp and she stank like ash and wet-dog but Sera kept her puppy close. She was getting too big to hold like this, honestly. They’d almost lost track of each other in the chaos as they fled Haven. One moment, they were charging towards the gates side by side, the next a twisted red something leapt toward them and Sera had lost sight of her dog. It wasn’t until their retreat back into the Chantry that Sera spotted Soot hiding in Varric’s tent.

She’d scooped up the mabari and scolded her as they sprinted away from the dragon. She hadn’t looked behind her. She didn’t want to see the Archedemon again. It was just like when the Darkspawn had flooded into Denerim. She’d seen a massive shadow blotting out the sun and caught a glimpse of something black and spikey. Then Alarith had grabbed her and made her hide in his cellar with his kids while he went back out to join Shianni and the rest of the people with their scavenged weapons. Alarith never came back.

So Sera didn’t look behind her when they ran. She didn’t need to see time spent hiding in a cellar, listening to the screaming and shrieking overhead. She didn’t look back and it wasn’t until Cullen was escorting them into the passageway out of Haven that she remembered Savi had been behind her.

“Where’s the Herald?” Cullen asked as he counted heads.

“She was right behind…” Sera turned and blinked when Savi wasn’t just a step behind her.

“She remained.” Solas said, coldly. He said everything coldly. “The dragon landed near the trebuchet as we fled.”

“But she was right behind us! We’ve got to go back!”

Blackwall put a hand on her should and began to guide her back down the tunnel.

“No! She was right behind us!”

“Come on, Sera.” He said it quietly. He was still wearing his helmet. She couldn’t see his face in the dim light. Her arms began to shake and she put down her brick of a dog.

They hiked out of the mountain valley through snow deeper than Sera. Behind them Haven was gone, buried beneath an avalanche. Savi had succeeded. She had wiped out the army and should have been right beside them with a tired grin, complaining about how she could have just _died_ there, really they needed to start coming up with better plans.

They stopped to rest and regroup two valleys over. Cullen set up patrols of the least-worn soldiers in case any of those red…things found them. Sera should have joined them. Her legs were still relatively fresh and she could see better in the dark than most of the soldiers. She should have but she didn’t. She ducked into a tent with some unconscious Chantry sisters and curled up with Soot beside her. The dog licked her ears and whined gently. Sera spun an empty tonic bottle in her fingers.

Don’t think about the dragon. Don’t think about watching Savi’s back in a dozen previous battles. Don’t think about the tons of rock and ice that buried Haven. Just spin and focus. Spin, focus, breath. Sera began to rock back and forth.

“Hello, Soot.” Blackwall patted the dog’s head. Sera looked up at him. When had he gotten here? His helmet was gone. The ice crusted in his beard made him look like a pine tree. He pulled off his gloves and began to warm his fingers at the brazier.

“What’s going to happen?” Sera asked.

“Efforts to regroup are being made.” He said.

“What does that even mean?”

“Exactly. I think we’re just trying to survive the night. The Lady Seeker seems at a loss.”

Sera squeezed the bottle in between her frozen hands. People didn’t like it when she rocked and spun things.

“I hate not doing anything.” She mumbled.

Blackwall hummed. He ran his fingers through Soot’s fur for a bit then stood up and pulled his gloves back on with an air of determination.

“Let’s go then.”

“Go?”

“Go back to Haven. Two people on foot with a dog are far less likely to get noticed then a village on the move. We’ll go back and we’ll find her.”

“Savi?” Sera snorted. “You saw the mountain come down. What’s worth finding?”

“I don’t believe she’s dead, Sera.” He said it like a confession. “Maybe I just can’t believe it but she survived the Conclave and whatever happened in Redcliffe. We have to at least try.”

Because she’s the Herald of Andraste. He didn’t say it but he meant it. Savi was the Herald, the one with the magic hand and the nine lives and maybe a whole God behind her. Maybe.

In her jacket pocket was a scarf Savi had leant her when she lost her hat on their way back from Redcliffe. It was made of soft halla wool and was dyed a golden yellow. Savi hadn’t asked for it back so Sera hadn’t given it back.

“Soot, do you want to help us find Savi?” She pulled the cloth out of her pocket and offered it to the dog. Soot snuffled the cloth gently and then whuffed and stood. Blackwall nodded to the dog and ducked back out of the tent.

No one stopped them as they walked away from the lanterns of the hastily erected camp. The snow was beaten down by feet and hooves. As they walked further, falling snow and wind covered the tracks. Blackwall stopped to cut branches then tied them to their feet with twine to make decent snowshoes. Soot walked along the top of ice like a feather. The leather booties Cullen and Savi insisted her wear presumably kept her toes warm.

They climbed out of the valley and walked in silence for an hour. They passed a snowed-out campfire where Adan had heated water to stave off some of the frostbite on those unlucky enough to lose their shoes. It was hardly visible with the snow. In the distance a wolf howled and was answered by another much closer.

“Blackwall, I’m cold.”

“Then don’t stop.” He answered gruffly. “You stop and your temperature drops.”

“Then what’s your plan, huh?” She snapped. “Walk until you freeze on your feet? Savi’s dead. And I don’t want to join her.”

He lurched to a stop. “I’m heading back to Haven.”

The clouds cleared for a merciful second and weak moonlight shone off the icy ground. She couldn’t see much of his face behind his half-visor but what she saw made her think that maybe freezing was a possibility he was willing to accept. Soot barked and took off towards a stand of trees. Sera followed rather than confront her new realization.

From between the snow covered branches, a familiar emerged. She staggered along like each step was painful but she didn’t stop. A green glow reflected off the snow as Savi dropped to her knees and let Soot lick her face.

“Creators, am I glad to see you. Can you help with my arm? I think I dislocated it.”

And just like that, Sera knew she’d die for Saviera Lavellan, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter should be up the first week of February


End file.
